Ostrich Syndrome!

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Attack on Freedom Flotilla- Come on Obama, earn your Nobel!

When President Barrack Obama was declared the winner of the Nobel Prize for Peace 2009, there were mixed responses from the International and US communities. The black were ecstatic, the whites sighed, and the browns like me only hoped that the Nobel laureate Obama would usher in change in a world where his country is seen more of a tormentor than anything else. Unfortunately nothing changed. More American soldiers were commissioned in Afghanistan; more drones killed innocent civilians than Al Qaida members in the tribal areas of Pakistan; more “development” work was sanctioned to American companies in Iraq and even more hysteria was generated against the weapons of mass destruction with Iran. It appeared that the Nobel Prize for Peace to Barrack Obama was as much a waste as it was a hoax in those six years when the real champion of peace, Mahatma Gandhi was denied its bestowment (We were told that Gandhi was nominated six times for the prize).
The Israeli attack on the Turkish boats carrying humanitarian aid to the caged people of Gaza is an opportunity thrown by history towards President Barrack Obama to earn his Nobel Peace Prize. The merciless killing of nineteen innocent humanitarian aid victims by Israeli forces aboard the Freedom Flotilla is not new. Israel is known for similar brutalities in the past. Who can forget the killing of innocent Muhhamad Al Durrah, the little boy who hid behind his father to avoid the Israeli bullets at a sleepy Gaza junction? Or for that matter can we ever forget the thousands murdered at the Sabra-Shatila camps in Beirut? So what is so big if Israel has committed murder again? To an ordinary citizen of the world like me, it is the audacity with which Israeli authorities perpetrated these crimes, right in front of world attention, knowing the consequences! It was murder planned and executed in broad daylight, right in our drawing rooms. The iron cold savagery of Israeli authorities has even taken its allies by surprise. Never have we seen such a global outcry over an Israeli atrocity.
In the opening remarks of his Noble lecture, President Obama had said, “It is an award that speaks to our highest aspirations – that for all the cruelty and hardship of our world, we are not mere prisoners of fate. Our actions matter, and can bend history in the direction of justice”. Undoubtedly strong, soul stirring words. But actions to bend history in the direction of justice never come easy. We know President Barrack Obama is an excellent orator. He weaves his words to make the listener believe in him. His popular Cairo University speech to Muslims is an epitome of rhetoric manufactured to the tune of popular Muslim sentiments. But for how long? Words sound good only if they are followed by firm actions. Actions are fortunately impervious to rhetoric. They have the accuracy to hit where it hurts. We know what Martin Luther King meant in his I Have a Dream speech because his actions and subsequently his sacrifice were proof enough to nurture the meaning of each and every word- truthful and heavy with purpose.
It’s interesting that President Obama’s second book Audacity of Hope derives its inspiration from the famous painting Hope by G.F. Watts. Obama had attended a sermon by his mentor, Jeremiah White who had then described the painting - "with her clothes in rags, her body scarred and bruised and bleeding, her harp all but destroyed and with only one string left, she had the audacity to make music and praise God ... To take the one string you have left and to have the audacity to hope ... that's the real word God will have us hear from this passage and from Watt's painting." How much more will President Barrack Obama wait? Palestine as a geopolitical entity is in rags. Its landmass divided by unjustified borders and fences. Its body scarred, bruised and bleeding. Every day brings new wounds and fresh death. The harp of hope for millions of Palestinians is long broken. The identity of Palestine has been untimely aborted by cruel hands of the Israeli establishment.
There are moments in history which demand change in our perceptions and attitudes to what looks routine. We have become immune to the siege and violence of Gaza. We have become deaf to the cries of mothers and lamenting of daughters. The complex power equations of the Middle East have muddled the cost of human suffering which is an inevitable part of the package. With each day the darkness around Gaza deepens. Peace talks, war crimes and peace talks again. The cycle goes on with a status quo which suites the perpetrators more than the victims. The attack on Freedom Flotilla is one such moment which has thrown a chance not towards Barak Obama, the President of the most powerful country in the world, but towards Barak Obama, the Nobel Laureate for Peace 2009. There is no paucity of options on Barak Obama’s platter. Israeli economic blockage, redefining biased territorial divisions, UN sanctions, maybe use of force or even freedom for the people of Palestine in general and Gaza in particular. President Obama was criticized by many for being given the Nobel Prize prematurely. This is the opportunity to justify the award and to reaffirm the faith of people in hope and humanity.
We know the cost of standing up against Israel and the Zionist agenda can be exorbitant and pure dangerous, but then the cost to maintain status quo is already deadly. We hope Barack Obama, the first black President of the United States of America stands up to what he writes and thinks. We hope that his actions, not rhetoric, will manufacture global consent against any further Israeli oppression. We hope that he frees the prisoners of Gaza not only from their brutal masters but from their fates as well. President Barak Obama, we will wait to see if you are just one of them or are you a rare breed.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Attack by isreal on aid ship is unforgiveable.

However what does not get the support of other communities is for the following reason :

1. why is the author not mentioned anything about the killing of ahmedyas in pakistan when they were doing their prayers.

2. why is the author not questioning the inhuman treatment of workers in gcc.

3. why is the author not questioning any protest of the burqa ban by the gcc countries

4. why is the author not question the cosy relationship between usa and the rich oil countries including saudi

5. Why is ms. arundhati roy speak about all these

6. Why is the author so silent about the brillant fatwa issued by the cleric and acccepted by the community.

Intelligent Person sitting in the glass house will not throw stone first

Unknown said...

Dear Anonymous,
Thanks for raising all the issues which are relevant and not so relevant to the present topic. I have extensively written on the Pakistani Talibans and their ideology of hate, whether it is killing of innocent Ahmadiyas or Sikhs, it is condemnable and hateful. The inhuman conditions of workers in the GCC are a matter of debate and I am presently involved in a book which is going to apper on the subject. Cannot reveal anything more than that as of now. The cosy relationship between SA and the USA is too open a secret to write about. In fact we all know that Taliban is the illegitimate offspring of this relationship. I and hopefuly millions of peace loving Muslims donot support the politics of fatwa and the hatred associated with it.
I hope this answers all your questions Mr Anonymous? How about revealing your true identity for a change? Are your questions so hateful that you fear to reveal your true self on this blog? Just ponder.
I presume you are too clouded by hate to see all that is written at least on this blog. The questions you raised have been asnwered well in the publications on this blog.

Anonymous said...

Very well written article. Thank you very much.Going by the exceedingly mild US response it seems that Mr President is in command but not in control and that "there is something behind the throne greater than the king himself !!"

Shyama said...

Well writen Shah Alam Khan. Injustice in any form, anywhere in the world should fought against. Obama is accountable. Let's find ways of leting him know that.

Anonymous said...

Hi,

You can follow me at secular-hindu.sulekha.com. I have no hate what so ever as i come from the school of thought of hinduism which teaches us to see the divine manifestation in every living and non living being. My objective of writing is to bring out the consistency. And also to bring out the concept of what u sow so you reap. What goes around come around.


It does not matter who says what matter is what is being told so says tirukural.

Whether it is comments or charity both need not be attributed to a person but what matter is the content of the comment or the charity.

You have taken the pain to write about the attack of the ship however not the attack on the ahmediyas in pakistan. Pls refer to the following url :

http://changinguppakistan.wordpress.com/

This will tell you the expressions of an average muslim blogger in pakistan on the incidence but no such has come out in india. However there are enough to come on road or on the blog with regard to a cartoon or gaza or fatwa

Probably indian muslim wants to go through the path of pakistan experience to learn.

Unknown said...

Thanks for responding back. Your identity still eludes us...even after visiting your blog which I must confess made interesting reading. Of course I do not write on everything on earth....do not have the time from my busy schedule to comment on each and every thing happening around me. The killing of Ahmediyas is as heinous a crime as was the beheading of Jaspal Singh by the rabid Talibanis (I did write on him although; see the post underneath)
As for the average Muslim blogger of Pakistan, honestly Mr Anonymous I do not care about him. I care about Indians (both Muslims and Hindus). I care about my roots and they are firmly planted in the secular soil of India. Let me tell you one thing, the average Indian Muslim is different from the average global Muslim. Indian Muslims are the only ones on the planet (except for the Turks) who have tasted democracy, and this my friend has made a ton of difference. No wonder not a single Indian Muslim was caught or convicted post 9/11 in the US. Remember a total of 64 different Muslim nationalities were arrested or convicted in the mayhem which followed. This is what secularism is all about and it does make a difference to the Muslims of India.

Anonymous said...

Great article, Dr.!! Thanks

Anonymous said...

Hi,

Once again my identity does not matter. I appreciate that being professionals it might not be possible to find time into blogging as many find it to difficult to provide time for the family, near and dear.

Generally i write only when i feel that the expression are either one sided or with a hatred.

One time, i am happy is that atleast you are a person open to discussions and response.

I do blog with indianmuslims.in and the only change which i had observed with the admin is that they are open to view which are not generally accepted in their school of thought.

Sad part of it is that, no body else participate. Probably educated and open minded muslim could facilitate other in handling issues like education, fatwa etc...

Guava said...

your views on this topic are really appreciable..

Thanks..

H said...

WOW....... As a Palestinian I thank you Dr Shah, and I have to say that this article explains it all....

Arun Agarwal said...

dear Dr Khan,
Excellent article. Written with great feelings. From the heart not the mind!
BR
AA

Anonymous said...

Hi,

I take the liberty to request you to read and respond some of the articles and feedback of users in indianmuslims.

Proabably they are doing great service to radical hindu organization than indian muslim

http://indianmuslims.in/everybody-loves-a-bad-fatwa/comment-page-1/#comment-56805

"Afghanistan had the complete right to demolish or erect any public monument or property according to their rules and laws and to preserve or demolish their heritage. "

I would not call this comment as foolish but immature and lack rational thinking to handle adversaries and impacts.

Unknown said...

Absoultely correct Mr Anonymous. I presume these comments were for the destruction of Bamiyan Buddha's statues? In fact to destroy the relics of as peaceful a religion as Buddhism is madness and brutality par excellence. I cannot see any difference in this and in the beheading of people by the Taliban. It is the manifestation of the same disease- radicalisation of religion. In fact you can ask these Muslims who glorify the destruction of statues, what face do they have to condemn the killings in Gujarat or for that matter the destruction of the Babri Mosque?

Anonymous said...

Hi,

Thanks god, there is some body who sees rationality in their response. Request you to spend sometime with the indianmuslims.in site for the better ment of many

Anonymous said...

http://kashifhkhan.wordpress.com/

Interesting site. The author has brought out the reason for the down fall of the state of pakistan. In spite of it starting with a secular outlook, it fell into the fundamentalist hands. So it is imperative for india to ensure that it does not fall into the trap of the fundamentalist [ whether it is hindu or islam ].

Anonymous said...

http://kashifhkhan.wordpress.com/2010/06/08/reformation-of-islam-a-definition/

Here is the guy who has the guts to say what is required to be done. Probably the reason that pakistan has paid the price for the islamic fundamentalism which was encouraged by the military rule for holding on to the power.

Anonymous said...

Here is the country and sect of people who only concentrate in raising issue with regard to the their sect rather than the humanity. Here are the practices of an islamic country :

http://tribune.com.pk/story/20101/hindus-demand-inquiry-into-attack-on-temple-in-mithi/

http://kashifhkhan.wordpress.com/2010/06/10/the-plight-of-pakistani-hindus/

http://kashifhkhan.wordpress.com/2010/06/10/the-plight-of-pakistani-christians/

http://kashifhkhan.wordpress.com/2010/06/10/pakistans-islamization-and-treatment-of-minorities/

First question is that why this is not being discussed so much to the extent what is discussed about palestine. Is that mean that the life of the above are inferior to that of the plight of the people in palestine.

satwa gunam said...

The anti-Islam vote in the Netherlands elections

http://blog.dawn.com/2010/06/23/the-anti-islam-vote-in-the-netherlands-elections/

I want the bloggers to discuss the above decision of the democracy. Is it an intolerance or is it a reflection of the practices of muslim which other are trying to practice. Does this mean that the thought process of radical hindu wings like bjp is fair ?

Anonymous said...

Why is the DR hung up on ascribing motives for Anonymous ?

Anyone can create a fake name (Muslim or Christian or Buddhist) and comment using that name.

Unless the person is going to reveal themselves publicly, any chosen name is no different from using anonymous option.

Also for the first commenter---
for most Muslims, only muslim life is worth defending.

So know do not waste time in questioning any Muslims and expect them to be humane towards other infidels.
If they are really kind and humane it is inspite of the brainwashing they got from Islam...

Anonymous said...

What Islam isn't
The following is adapted from Dr. Peter Hammond's book: Slavery, Terrorism and Islam: The Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat:

Islam is not a religion nor is it a cult. It is a complete system.


http://97.74.65.51/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=30675

Anonymous said...

This aid flotilla is just a fake operation..
The real objective is not necessarily to help people in Gaza, rather provoke Isreal and incite islamists..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP2ivF9fXIU&feature=player_embedded#!